London has been battered by 50mph winds that have felled trees and caused travel chaos. Powerful gusts swept across the capital as the Met Office issued a yellow "be aware" weather alert for most of the country.

London woman saved from drowning by three surfers

Three surfers have saved a woman from drowning after she was hit by a large wave and thrown from her surfboard in rough seas.

The 38-year-old Londoner was dragged underwater by a three-metre surge of water as she surfed off the coast of South Fistral in Newquay, Cornwall, just before 5pm on Friday.

Jordan Henwood, who was in the water surfing with two friends, spotted the woman struggling in the sea and tried to haul her to safety on some nearby rocks.

But the pair were then both hit by a second massive wave and were submerged in the swell.

His friends Will Eastham, 36, a retained fireman at Newquay fire station, and Dean Scott, 20, dashed over and pulled the pair to safety.

Father-of-two Mr Eastham said: "The first wave hit and took her off into the water. She was struggling.

"One of the other lads, Jordan Henwood, managed to climb in [off the rocks] and grab her and pull her up to the rocks.

"But then a second massive wave hit and washed them both into the water."

Mr Scott threw Mr Henwood his surfboard so he could pull himself up, while Mr Eastham hauled the woman out of the water and on to his board.

The keen surfer, who owns a surfboard shop, said: "I picked her up and dumped her on the board and swam out of the surf. Dean came out with me. We took her quite far out where the waves weren't breaking.

"Luckily for her there were people around. It could have been a very different story."

Two lifeboats were dispatched to the scene and pulled the woman to their boat and ferried her to shore.

The woman, who has not been named, had cuts to her feet, a dislocated finger and had swallowed sea water.

She was treated by paramedics at the scene but was said to be in a remarkably good condition given her ordeal, and was later taken by ambulance to the Royal Cornwall Hospital (Treliske), in Truro.

Geoff Brown, deputy launching officer at Newquay lifeboats, said: "When the first boat arrived on the scene they found the lady had been separated from her board and had been knocked around in the surf. She had a dislocated finger, lacerations to her feet and there was a concern that she had swallowed a lot of sea water.

"She was being supported by two surfers, they saw that she was in trouble and had gone in to assist her.

"There was a heavy swell yesterday, around three metres. It was quite a rough sea yesterday.

"It would appear that she was in a remarkably good condition."

He praised the bravery of the quick-thinking surfers, and said: "They did a very, very good job in getting to her in the first place and supporting her until the lifeboat arrived.

"It is any guess what would have happened if they hadn't been there, their prompt action and bravery made a huge difference."

A storm brewing in the Atlantic brought gale-force winds which stirred up large waves on the coast, and Mr Brown warned the bad weather and choppy conditions would last for the next few days.

He said: "We have got another storm breaking this weekend. To anyone venturing into the sea on the south-west we are expecting another storm with strong winds and a heavy swell. People need to be extra careful if they are in or on the water."

Ken Bazeley, watch officer at Falmouth coastguard, praised the surfers for their bravery.

He said: "This happens quite a bit, but thank goodness people do assist each other in these conditions. They played their part and we are grateful they assisted."

Mr Eastham, a former European champion surfer, said he grew uneasy after
spotting the woman standing on some rocks in a particularly choppy part
of the coast.

He said the woman, who works as a teacher, was struck by four or five
powerful waves and probably would have drowned if she had been hit by more.

He said: "I saw a purple board coming down over the rocks. I just
thought, 'that doesn't look right'. You wouldn't jump off those rocks unless you knew what you were doing.

"As she was coming down the rocks she hesitated and a massive wave came and swept her off and her board was left smashing around.

"Jordan managed to lean down, grab her and pull her up, he had managed to just about get her on the rocks but then the next massive wave came and dragged them both into the water and under. It was really turbulent."

He said he waited for a pause in the waves and quickly paddled towards the woman, hauling her on to his board.

"I bolted towards her in between the waves otherwise I would have
been swept along too and I wouldn't have been any good to anyone," he said.

"She had taken about three or four waves to the head, it was like she had been through a washing machine.

"She was pretty cut up and bruised from the rocks. If she had gone into a couple more waves it could have been a different story. She probably would have drowned."

Describing the conditions as some of the worst he had ever seen in the area, he warned that less-experienced surfers were easily caught out by the swell.

He said: "It was horrendous. They really weren't nice conditions.

"The bit she was in was like a cauldron full of white water, it spins around and is choppy and rough.

"The conditions were solid four-metre, powerful waves, it was really windy and stormy and there was a massive swell coming through. Even experienced surfers were nervous. She was totally out of her depth.

"Unfortunately, people who are not as capable and experienced at surfing are all of a sudden out of their depth in these conditions.

"The waves can hurl them back on to the rocks and it can be very dangerous. You have got to know what you are doing."